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Monitoring Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii distribution, populations and time of occurrence within the Abu Dhabi Emirate using a network of local rangers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2010

Robert Sheldon  and
Frédéric Launay
Robert Sheldon
Affiliation:
National Avian Research Center, Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, P.O. Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Frédéric Launay
Affiliation:
National Avian Research Center, Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, P.O. Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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Summary

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The Houbara Bustard is a winter visitor to the United Arab Emirates. Monitoring its population over large areas is difficult, due to the low density of the species and the nature of its habitat. We examined the possibility of using a network of desert rangers in the western region of the Abu Dhabi Emirate to monitor the population, timing of occurrence and distribution of Houbara Bustards in two consecutive winters. Houbara Bustards arrived in Abu Dhabi in September and moved inland towards the south of the country. The last birds were seen in March. Numbers ranged from 56 to 112 in 1994/1995 and 117 to 235 in 1995/1996. Houbara sightings were not evenly distributed within the region, with consistently higher numbers in sand-dune areas. This habitat is not optimal for Houbaras, where, in the past, they were less often encountered. The level of disturbance associated with more favourable habitats may be one reason why the birds are moving to more remote and inaccessible places. The use of a network of local rangers proved to be invaluable for gathering information on the low density Houbara population over a large area and was a very efficient way of monitoring the status of this endangered species.

Type
Research Article
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , March 1998 , pp. 1 - 9
Copyright
Copyright © Birdlife International 1998

References

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